Friday, April 30, 2010

Here's a question for mobile broadband customers and potential users: how would you like to have a lower monthly payment for your 3G service and not be locked into a 2-year contract?

"What is the catch, right?"

No catch - 3Gstore can make this happen! 3Gstore is now offering Verizon 3G mobile broadband service with no contract for just $49.95/month. We have two Verizon devices available for lease - the Verizon Mifi for $89.99 and a Verizon USB760 for $59.99 - and thanks to our partnership with a wholesale provider, your monthly service is just $49.95. Plus, there's no credit check, no contract, no activation fee, and no cancellation fee. You can cancel your lease any time (just send back the device)!

In the past, getting Verizon service without a 2-year contract was very expensive. Customers would have to pay full retail value for a device (ranging from $200-$300), then would have to pay a $35 activation fee every time they activated the aircard. Plus, the service was still $59.99/month. With 3Gstore's new $49.95/month Verizon Mobile Broadband plan, you lease the device for a very low price, pay no activation fee, and pay less for the monthly service - all without a contract!

3Gstore's $49.95/month Verizon plan gives you the following perks:

Two devices to choose from: Verizon Mifi for $89.99 and a Verizon USB760 for $59.99 (brand new, in original packaging - the same exact ones Verizon sells). Or, you can even use your own device if you have a compatible Verizon modem that isn't under contract.

No Mail-in Rebate (when signing a contract, most devices have a mail-in rebate)

No $35 Activation Fee (EVER)

No Credit Check (That means you will not have to provide us with your Social Security Number and your Drivers License for individual accounts or Federal Tax ID for business accounts.)

No contract, so no termination fee - cancel anytime (you will just have to send back the device if you decide to cancel before your 2-year lease is up, or pay $250 if you prefer to keep it.

No dealing with Verizon - With 3Gstore’s $49.95/month plan, there is no need to ever deal with Verizon. 3Gstore provides technical support, and your monthly service is billed automatically to the credit card of your choice by 3Gstore’s wholesale partner.

And of course, the best part of this deal is you will only pay $49.95/mo for 5GB of data ($0.07/mb overage charges apply thereafter). If you're not sure how much 5GB of data is please read this article: What does 5gb get me?

If you're ready to get started, you can place your order for the USB760 or MiFi online at 3Gstore.com/vzw, or call us at 866-3GSTORE. If you have more questions about our $49.95/month Verizon plan, visit the FAQ. Not sure if Verizon has 3G coverage where you need it? Check your coverage at 3Gstore.com/coverage.

April showers bring May flowers... and great deals on Cradlepoint routers! Cradlepoint has run a variety of promotions over the years, but typically the deals are specific to certain routers or limited to certain customers. This Spring, Cradlepoint and 3Gstore have partnered up to provide three great promotions for anyone from home users to businesses to government entities!

Cradlepoint's Spring promotions include mail-in rebates for consumers, instant discounts for government agencies, and a special "buy 5, get 1 free" deal on the MBR1200 for business customers! Read all the details at EVDOinfo.com/cradlepointpromo

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Since the release of the iPad on April 3rd, many iPad owners have been having issues with connecting to WiFi networks that use WEP security. Since the Sprint OverDrive uses WEP security by default, it has been a problem for some Sprint Overdrive owners who use the device to provide a 3G/4G mobile hotspot for the iPad. If you are having problems connecting your iPad to your OverDrive via WiFi, then we have a solution that will fix the problem! Since the problem is only related to WEP security, you will simply need to change the OverDrive's wireless security mode to WPA instead of using WEP.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The 3gstore.com and EVDOinfo.com team has several iPhone users, and we are often searching for ways to extend the iPhone's battery life. All of the awesome things that an iPhone can do (video, web, apps...) are unfortunately very taxing on the internal battery - a heavy day of use can leave you with a dead battery before you get home to recharge! Here are some helpful tips we've compiled to help keep your phone charged as long as possible:

First, enable battery percentages - This will not have any effect on your battery life, but it makes it much easier to tell home much battery life you really have left. Unfortunately, only the 3GS supports this feature (to enable on your iPhone 3GS, tap the "Settings" app, then "General", then "Usage", turn "Battery Percentage" on). For iPhone 3G or 2G users, there are a number of free apps available to download that allow you to see your battery life in percentage - search for "battery" in the app store.

enabling battery percentages on iPhone 3Gs - click for larger view

Improve your signal strength - If your phone is constantly struggling to find a solid signal, you're going to wear down your battery very quickly. There are several options for improving signal strength on an iPhone. The iPhone does not have an antenna port on it, but you can improve the signal with a wireless signal booster like the iBooster or Sleek. If you need to improve the signal to more than one phone, you can use a wireless repeater (read more at 3Gstore.com/repeaters).

Only enable WiFi when you need it - (tap "settings" app, then "Wi-Fi", then choose "off" or "on"). When you are not within range fo a WiFi network, turn off WiFi to save power (so that the phone isn't constantly searching for WiFi networks). However, if you ARE in range of a WiFi network and use your phone to surf the web a lot, re-enable WiFi so that you can do that surfing over WiFi instead of 3G (this will save battery and nearly always provide you with better performance than surfing over AT&T's 3G network).

Monday, April 26, 2010

Sprint has announced that they will be coming out with the Sprint Blackberry Bold 9650 on May 23, 2010. This Blackberry will be one a traveler will not leave home without! It will have high-end communication functionality, many multimedia features and will have international roaming capabilities. It's sleek/sexy and thin - just what customers want and need. It will only operate on Sprint’s nationwide 3G Network and roams on other high-speed wireless networks around the world for reliable voice and email communication. AT&T and T-Mobile had an older version of the Blackberry Bold - this one is new and improved.

The new Bold will give customers complete access to there email, calendar, contacts, business and entertainment applications and navigational services. They will still be able to stay connected and share memories through a picture or video with the MMS and other IM services like the Blackberry Messenger. Let's not forget easy access to our favorite networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and Flickr.

Additional features include:

Access to up to 10 supported email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts such as Yahoo!®, Windows Live™Hotmail®, AOL® and Gmail™),plus BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support offering advanced security and IT administration capabilities for corporate deployments

Sprint no longer allows non-business customers to use the tethering feature

This weekend, a Sprint Blackberry 8330 user posted an unfortunate experience to the EVDO Forums. The user explained that Sprint had removed the tethering (aka "phone as modem") feature from his Blackberry without notice, and upon calling Sprint, he was told that he could not reactivate the feature as it was now only available to corporate-liable customers (accounts set up under a federal tax ID).

After doing some research, EVDOinfo has confirmed that this is indeed true. As of 4/10/2010, Sprint no longer allows "individual-liable" consumer accounts (any account set up under a social security number) to add the tethering feature to their phone.

The easiest, most affordable way to boost the signal to any cell phone or MiFi!

Since we first heard that Wilson was developing the Sleek, we couldn't wait to get our hands (and phones) on one. An all-in-one cell phone signal booster for any cell phone that barely costs more than some traditional antennas?! It sounded too good to be true! To our extreme excitement, it was not too good to be true - the Sleek is small, portable, effective, and affordable. Click here to read our full review of the Wilson Sleek.

The Sleek is now available at 3Gstore.com/sleek for just $129.95. If you need to boost the signal to a single phone or a MiFi in your vehicle, the Sleek is going to be your new best friend. With an MSRP of just $129.95 and impressive performance, the Sleek is a great choice for anyone who spends a great deal of time in their vehicle and wants to make sure they have the best possible signal!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Wilson Electronics, manufacturer of a wide variety of signal-boosting products, has been working hard to create products for cell phone users that are affordable and simple. Last year they released some all-in-one kits for specific phones (like the iBooster for iPhone and C-Booster for Blackberry Curve), but those kits only work with those specific phone models, and, while more affordable than a full repeater setup, were still too expensive for some users. Their latest cradle-based cell phone booster, the Sleek, solves both of those problems! The Sleek is a universal signal booster for both voice and data, meaning you can use it with just about any cell phone (except Nextel/iDen), and Wilson has set the price to make it accessible to users with any budget - just $129.95!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Now that Sprint's 4G service is available in a number of cities across the US, many Sprint 3G users are interested in switching to a new 3G/4G device like the U301 (left) or Overdrive, even if they don't currently need 4G - simply so they can have the latest device and be prepared for when 4G becomes available to them. This is understandable, but for customers who currently have a grandfathered "unlimited" 3G account with Sprint, swapping to a 3G/4G device may not always be the best idea. 3G/4G devices must be activated on Sprint's 3G/4G plan, which is $59.99 and provides unlimited 4G use but only 5GB of 3G use, with overage charges thereafter. This is the ONLY plan that you can activate Sprint's 3G/4G devices with - you CANNOT activate a 3G/4G device on a 3G-only plan.

This may come as a surprise to some, since Sprint does allow customers to do "ESN (Electronic Serial Number) Swaps" from one 3G device to another without changing your contract. Many people assume that they will be able to do an ESN swap from their 3G device to a 3G/4G device, continue using their unlimited 3G service for the time being, and be ready for 4G when it becomes available. This is NOT the case. You cannot do a simple ESN swap from a 3G device to a 3G/4G device. You can do a swap and not extend your contract, but you must change the plan to the 3G/4G plan (also, the swap can't be done online; to swap from a 3G to a 3G/4G device, you have to call Sprint).

For people that live in a 4G area, this isn't a problem since the 3G/4G plan provides unlimited 4G access, but for people that will mainly be relying on the 3G side, giving up your unlimited 3G service might not be worth making the switch just yet. If you have a 3G device with an unlimited Sprint plan and are considering doing a swap to a 3G/4G device, you should only do so if you actually have access to 4G and plan to use it; otherwise, you may want to wait until 4G is available in your area. You can keep up to date with the latest news on 4G, including coverage rollouts, by visiting our sister site 4ginfo.com.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Since 3Gstore.com started selling the IP Switch earlier this year, we have received a couple of requests for new features that weren't available in the original firmware. Here at 3Gstore, we pride ourselves on listening to our customers and providing a solution for their needs. We went to work with the IP Switch engineers to develop a new version of firmware that introduces new features to make the IP Switch an even more useful device than before! In addition to new features, a few minor bugs were also fixed. For more information on this firmware release read the full post at EVDOinfo.com - IP Switch Firmware 2.40 (3/18) is now available!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Apple Computer has approved the Opera Browser for the iPhone. Look for it to be available in the next 24 hours. Even though Safari is a great browser for the iPhone, this is big news because Apple is approving a "competing" product. In the past, they have "disapproved" similar apps that "change the user experience" or compete with Apple's built-in apps. So, this is good news.

Apple Computer has approved the Opera Browser for the iPhone. Look for it to be available in the next 24 hours. Even though Safari is a great browser for the iPhone, this is big news because Apple is approving a "competing" product. In the past, they have "disapproved" similar apps that "change the user experience" or compete with Apple's built-in apps. So, this is good news.

Friday, April 09, 2010

Gogo (AirCell) has recently announced a monthly subscription to access WiFi from any airplane that has Gogo service (American, United, Virgin, Delta, AirTran, Air Canada). Gogo has charged per flight ($.495 - $12.95) and had a 30 day pass ($39.95), however, this is the first monthly subscription that automatically renews until you cancel it.

The Gogo service has EVDO Rev A towers spread across the US, BUT they are aiming up towards the sky. The airline has a 3G to WiFi Router installed which provides the WiFi on the plane. This is very similar to the 3G Routers that 3Gstore.com sells (but are not the same).

For anyone that travels a lot, having WiFi to stay busy is a life saver. We had a chance to do some Gogo Testing recently and it worked very well.

Here at 3Gstore, we have a Sprint account with a number of mobile broadband lines on it, and we often do "ESN Swaps" to activate different devices on the lines. ESN swaps do not effect your account - all an ESN swap does is move the service from one device to another.

Since ESN swaps are not supposed to make any changes to the line of service itself, we were surprised to receive a letter in the mail from Sprint notifying us that our contract had been changed and that if we canceled the service before the contract ended, there would be an early termination fee (ETF) of $240. Interestingly, right under that, it said: “An early termination fee of up to $200 may apply to each line on the account if you cancel before your contract end date.”

Hmmm…that doesn’t sound right. Would the ETF be $200 or $240? Sprint's ETF policy has been to charge a maximum of $200 (and after four months, it begins being pro-rated based on how long you've had the service) - we have never heard of a $240 ETF. View the letter below (click the image for a larger view):We called Sprint to find out what the ETF really is (not that we plan on canceling, but it's always important to know the terms and conditions of your contract!), and they confirmed that the "$240" was simply a typo - Sprint's ETF policy has not changed.

If you see that letter like the one we received in your mail, don't be alarmed - but do pick up the phone and call Sprint at 1-888-211-4727 to confirm the terms of your agreement. The moral of the story is to always ask questions and make sure you are up to date on the terms of your agreement with your service provider - even SPRINT makes mistakes!

Monday, April 05, 2010

The 3G/4G Overdrive is just one of the many options available to get your iPad online!

On Saturday April 3rd, Apple launched the WiFi-only version of the iPad. We have tested several different options that will meet the needs of any iPad owner, and have described the pro's and con's of each option to help you decide which option will suit you best! One of the biggest advantages to using any of the setups below (as opposed to relying on others' WiFi networks or using AT&T's 3G network via the built-in 3G chip that will be included in future iPads) is that you'll be able to provide 3G/4G internet access to any device, not just the iPad! Why pay a monthly fee for something that is only going to work with just the iPad, when you can also provide connectivity to your laptop, iTouch, PS3, and so on?

Friday, April 02, 2010

Take a peak behind the scenes to see how the 3Gstore mobile broadband experts feel about the latest products and services! Our Mobile Break video podcast series features EVDOinfo/3Gstore employees discussing hot topics in the world of 3G and 4G mobile broadband. To suggest future topics, post your suggestions in the EVDO Forums.

Sprint 3G vs Sprint 3G/4G

There has been a lot of excitement over the past year about Sprint's new 4G WiMAX network, especially since the recent release of new 3G/4G devices like the Overdrive hotspot and the U301. 4G has become an increasingly hot topic, and understandably so - WiMAX is much faster than EVDO (Sprint's 3G technology), and no one wants to get stuck in a contract for 3G service when something better is available.

However, just because 4G is now available in some areas of the country does NOT necessarily mean every Sprint 3G user (or potential user) should run to sign up for 3G/4G service. There are a number of things to consider before choosing 3G or 4G service - is 4G even available where you need the service? Do you rely on an antenna for your 3G service? Is your current Sprint contract one of the old unlimited plans?